1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to packet switching networks, and more particularly to processing data packets in a packet switch.
2. Description of Related Art
Modem telecommunication networks include packet switching networks for transmitting data from a source device to a destination device. The data is split up and encapsulated into data packets along with a destination identifier of the data. The packet switching network individually routes each data packet through a network of interconnected packet switches based on the destination identifier in the data packet. The data packets may be routed through different paths in the packet switching network and generally arrive at the destination device in an arbitrary order. At the destination device, the data is reconstructed from the data packets.
In some packet switching networks, a packet switch can multicast a data packet. In such a multicast operation, the packet switch duplicates an original data packet and then routes each of the data packets based on the destination identifier of the data packet and a routing table. Because each of the data packets contains the same data payload, multiple devices can receive the same data payload in the multicast operation. In some cases, however, such a multicast operation is an inefficient and inflexible mechanism for delivering data to a device in the telecommunication network.
In light of the above, a need exists for performing an efficient data delivery operation in a packet switch. A further need exists for a flexible data delivery operation in a packet switch.